Quentin Compson

Quentin is a very troubled person because he is unable to deal with dishonor, pride, and grief. His father’s words haunt him everyday beginning when Mr. Compson tells Quentin that he will forget his grief because time will heal his despair and misery. Quentin is tortured by what he feels is the most awful sin, Caddy loosing her virginity. Quentin is the only member of the Compson family to have pride and he feels that Caddy’s lack of pride in her family has led her to commit this dishonorable act. As a result of Mr. Compson’s pessimistic view of life and Caddy’s sin, Quentin can find no basis for any true morals. Quentin cannot live a life without a system of morals and values. This gives him his greatest struggle in life. Quentin strives to prove his father wrong but he becomes devastated when he learns of Caddy sin. This leads him to question the truth behind his father’s claims.

Quentin feels very connected to Caddy on a level that he experiences with no other character of the novel. Quentin loves Caddy so much that he is willing to go to all lengths to cleanse her of her sin. Quentin goes as far as trying to convince their father that he and Caddy committed incest so that Caddy’s sins will decrease in significance. Quentin also tries to save Caddy when he suggests a double suicide pact. Caddy is willing to commit suicide with Quentin because it will go against her parents, while Quentin wants to die so that Caddy will be freed from her sin and be safe with him. Quentin will never be able to understand Caddy’s motives for loosing her virginity because while she looks for ways to disturb the peace between her and her parents, Quentin looks for ways to restore all lost order. Quentin is hopelessly connected to Caddy in a lost cause because she can never regain her virginity.

Quentin’s biggest fear in life is that all his values are meaningless. Unfortunately, Mr. Compson gives Quentin his last piece of evidence that leads him to the conclusion that Mr. Compson is indeed right when he says that there are no real values in life. Quentin tries to disregard his father’s ideas because he does not want to forget his grief. Quentin believes that if he forgets his horror then it will all become meaningless. If the experiences in life become meaningless then Quentin does not see the worth in living through them. He feels that he must stop time in order to stop himself from forgetting the dishonor that Caddy brought upon the family. The only way that Quentin knows how to stop himself from forgetting the horror and to stop time is by committing suicide. To Quentin, suicide is not a dishonorable act because he is preserving the grief he suffered and preventing the whole situation from becoming meaningless. (567).